A woman had to be rescued from a second-storey apartment by firefighters as flames consumed a home in Mount Forest.
The fire broke out during the 6 p.m. hour Thursday at a home on Peel Street. Thirty firefighters were soon called in to deal with the fast-spreading flames.
Firefighters arrived at the home to find that flames were consuming its staircase, meaning the only route to the woman was through a window.
“We had no choice. She wasn’t coming down,” Wellington North fire chief Dave Guilbault said Friday.
Using a ladder, firefighters were able to bring the woman to safety. She was taken to hospital with symptoms of smoke inhalation.
Two other people were also hospitalized due to the fire: a man who suffered first- and second-degree burns, and a firefighter who was treated for heat exhaustion. All three had been released from care by Friday afternoon. Five pets were rescued from the home and taken to an animal hospital.
“We’re lucky we didn’t have a loss of life,” Guilbault said.
The fire is believed to have started with an unattended pot of grease on the stove. Damage is estimated at $250,000.
